Eastgate Academy MFL Curriculum

Jessica Seville

Through the study of Spanish, we aim to expose our children to different cultures and tradition’s while providing them with the knowledge of a new language. We are aware that of our children come to us from a variety of different backgrounds and want to use Spanish to broaden their horizons and ensure that they have the knowledge they need to progress in their studies. By learning and practising a new language, we aim to support our students in the development of resilience and curiosity which will foster a want to discover new words and an understanding of the language. Through the teaching of Spanish, we hope to open the door to the wider world for our children so they can be immersed in different cultures and traditions. This will ensure that they become tolerant, respecting members of society.

By learning to converse and write in Spanish, our students will be able to apply their knowledge of languages to other aspects of their education. For example, we believe that through having to explicitly learn about the grammatical differences between the Spanish language and English it will support them in their understanding of SPAG. We also feel that by understanding a different culture, this will enhance their writing content as they will be able to use what they have learnt about Spanish-speaking countries to help create characters, settings and improve dialogue. Learning Spanish throughout primary school will also provide them with solid prior knowledge for when they progress to high school.

Once our students leave us, they have the possibility of learning two new languages or continuing with their understanding of Spanish. Should our children progress to a language they do not know, we believe that our children will be able to apply the methods they used when learning Spanish and their understanding of languages to the new context they will be presented with. If they continue with their learning of Spanish, we hope that, through their prior learning, it will take away an element of fear in the transition to a new school as they will recognise a lot of the content and be able to build their confidence through showing their existing ability. Also, we hope that the curiosity we aim to instil in our students about the language will stay with them in high school and beyond. Finally, through the focus on traditions and festivals in countries where Spanish is the main language we will immerse the children in their subject and pique their curiosity about the world and what they may be able to experience through travel.